Ballots to choose mayors and other local leaders were held in 748 cities and municipalities nationwide, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
In the first round on April 7, the opposition conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party won the most votes in elections to Poland’s regional assemblies, but was outdistanced by the government coalition in mayoral races in most major cities, including Warsaw, Gdańsk, Łódź and Katowice.
In several other cities, including Wrocław in the southwest and Rzeszów in the southeast, races for mayor went to runoffs after no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.
In Rzeszów, a city of around 200,000 near the Ukrainian border, a candidate backed by Poland’s conservative opposition failed to oust incumbent mayor Konrad Fijołek, the exit poll showed late on Sunday.
In Wrocław, incumbent mayor Jacek Sutryk easily secured re-election in the second round, broadcaster TVP Info reported, citing exit poll data.
In the southern city of Kraków, liberal politician Aleksander Miszalski was elected mayor after narrowly defeating unaffiliated candidate Łukasz Gibała, according to the exit poll.
The local ballots tested the government's support just six months after a coalition of pro-European parties won parliamentary elections, news agencies reported.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X: "Poznań, Kraków, Wrocław, Rzeszów, Toruń, Zabrze, Konin, Kielce, Jelenia Góra, Zielona Góra, Radom, Elbląg - It seems we've won the second round." He declared: "We won't stop."
Turnout on Sunday was significantly lower than in the first round two weeks earlier, when it stood at 51.93 percent, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
April's local elections were the second in an electoral marathon in Poland, following national parliamentary elections last autumn.
On June 9, Poles will head to the ballot box to vote in European Parliament elections.
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Source: TVP Info, IAR, PAP